SUNGAI BULOH, Oct 7 — The Selangor government won’t compromise over illegal factories, as seen in its move to raze 12 such facilities in Sungai Buloh today.
State executive councillor for local government and tourism Dato’ Ng Suee Lim said most of the razed premises were involved in the illegal operation of furniture manufacturing and warehousing on Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) river and utility reserve land.
“We want to show how serious the state government is in eradicating illegal factories that have long trespassed on government reserve land.
“All operators were given sufficient eviction notices, including a last notice in July, but they refused to move,” he told Media Selangor at the site here today.
Ng explained that the Selangor government has launched factory whitelisting operations and a long period of leniency, including by issuing three or four eviction notices, for nearly 20 years, but results have been discouraging.
“It is time for strict action, to prevent allegations that the state government has failed to act against illegal factories.
“Investigations revealed that there were ‘middlemen’ who rent the premises to these operators at a high rate — between RM7,000 and RM12,000 a month, for a total revenue of nearly RM100,000 a month,” he said.
Ng advised illegal factory operators in Selangor to visit a land office or their local authority to register their business before enforcement action is pursued.
“We are giving whitelisting opportunities in permitted zones. Come now, don’t wait till enforcement is done in illegal areas,” he urged.
The demolition operation, initially slated for four days, is set to be done in two days thanks to solid inter-agency coordination.
The operation involves over 400 officers from various agencies including 140 police personnel and representatives from the Selangor Land and Mines Office, Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), TNB, Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd, and Petaling District and Land Office.
